First time posting my training progress here on Starting Strength, but I've been hanging around and commenting in these forums for a few years. It's time that I open myself up to the snark and support.
Background: I've run NLP several times now during the warm months, stopping during the winter so I could focus on my snowboarding and other winter activities, then restarting as if a complete Novice every spring. After talking to a few SSCs about this, they suggested that I try to get at least one intensity set for each lift during those winter months. This past winter was the first winter where I've done that, thanks to Grant at The Strength Co. and our new gym in the garage. So while I'm gong to run NLP anew, I know that I'm getting closer to Intermediate programming, so I'll stick this here. So for now, it's not justified, but it should be in a few months.
Previously, I had spent many decades involved in chronic cardio, including long-distance triathlons and ultramarathons (both running and cycling), serving as a Deacon in the Church of Chronically Over-Trained. The gym was typically only for the off-season, doing some strengthening which stopped once the training started in earnest each spring. But I reached a point where I wasn't enjoying the process anymore, mainly because of the amount of time that I spent training on top of 60+ hours (or more) in the office each week, all time away from my wife. And I like my wife. So I took a few years off from anything that didn't involve her; we hiked a lot, and when I say a lot, that includes thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada, together. We still hike together, but much shorter trips than 6.5 months. Now we also lift together.
Stats: 53yo M, 6'00”, 217lbs
NLP history:
2017 — BS: 185x5x3; DL: 215x5; BP: 155x5x3; OP: 100x5x3; PC: 145x3x5; FS: 165x5x3
I ran across Rips T-Nation article on “Who Wants to be a Novice?” and started using the template listed there, but not knowing the proper way to figure out starting weights, so everything was lighter than should have been. But, that was a great opportunity to work on form. Plus, the template had front squats lifted, so I alternated both squats, which artificially depressed my back squats.
2018 — BS: 260x5x3; DL: 265x5; BP: 165x5x3; OP: 130x5x3; PC: 145x3x5; FS: 180x5x3
2019 — BS: 315x5x3; DL: 335x5; BP: 195x5x3; OP: 117x5x3; PC: 155x3x5; FS: 215x5x3
2020* — BS: 260x5x3; DL: 320x5; BP: 160x5x3; OP: 115x5x3; PC: 150x3x5; FS: 0
* COVID edition. We didn't get our gym assembled and ready until 10/23/20, so these numbers are just over 2 months of training until snowboard season kicked into high gear with the new year. In the months prior, I was flopping around the house doing bodyweight workouts and dropped down to 192lbs; this 2 months of lifting got me back up to 210lbs (without milk).
2020-21 Snowboard season — at least one intensity set per main lift per week. Some weeks some lifts got two intensity sets, typically when conditions didn't call us to the mountains. As the snowboarding got good and we were up in the mountains 4-5 days/week, resets were necessary, plus some borrowing from intermediate programming, like sets of 3x2 or 2x3 for the presses followed by back-off sets. Body weight moved slowly from 210-217lbs. BS: 285x5+260x5x2; DL: 350+330x4; BP: 200x2x3+182.5x5x2; OP: 132.5x3x5
Each of those seasons had some injuries, resets when I probably shouldn't have, and living life. So, in some respects, I fall squarely into the YNDTP category, even when I am following the program.
So having said all of that, I'll be resuming (and trying to milk) my NLP below, with a slight reset of all lifts so that I can adjust to the increased volume compared what I've been doing for the past several months. The only other adjustment is for the deadlift, which will follow Andy Baker's Heavy-Light-Medium template since I found by last December that the combined SQ/DL volume was beating me up, causing me to miss DL reps. Plus, over the winter, any DL sets of 5 above 335 was a real struggle, even though I did reach a 360 single and a 350 single with a back-off set of 4 at 330.
So here goes...
Lifting to Live
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Originally Posted by carson
